Object of study Theory

5.2.2.3 Propositions

Collaboration history Radical innovation is associated with searching for new possibilities and ideas, experimentation, and risk taking March 1991. If we apply Granovetter’s 1973 finding that new ideas often come from people outside the circle of family and friends “weak ties”, it is hypothesized that new ideas and business opportunities will come from “new” part- ners, i.e. partners with which a company has no collaboration history. Incremental innovation, on the other hand, consists of strengthening and broadening knowledge of established technologies and products. It is hypothesized that this requires that partners are already part of the “family”. This leads to the following propositions. Proposition 1a: Success in radical innovation projects requires collaboration with new partners. Proposition 1b: Success in incremental innovation projects requires collaboration with existing partners. Technological capabilities Based on the same principle formulated by Granovetter 1973, it is hypothesized that new ideas and possibilities will come from partners that are involved in the production of other types of products, since these companies will have a different knowledge base. Thus, for suc- cess in radical innovation projects a company needs to establish alliances with companies that have different capabilities, preferably in a different subsector of the industry Gilsing and Nooteboom, 2006. Because, on the other hand, incremental innovation projects must make use of existing knowledge and capabilities, they will require col- laboration with partners that have similar technological capabilities Granovetter, 1973; Gilsing and Nooteboom, 2006. These assump- tions lead to the following propositions. Proposition 2a: Success in radical innovation projects requires collaboration with partners that have different technological capabilities. Proposition 2b: Success in incremental innovation projects requires collaboration with partners that have similar technological capabilities.